Shoe sole sanitizing assembly and method

ABSTRACT

A shoe sole sanitizing assembly includes a housing that has a bottom wall, a top wall and a perimeter wall. The top wall has an opening extending therethrough. A cylinder is rotatably mounted to the housing and extends through the opening. An outer surface of the cylinder is comprised of an adsorptive material. A sanitizing fluid is positioned within the housing and the adsorptive material is in contact with the fluid. The sanitizing fluid coats the cylinder and applies the sanitizing fluid to a bottom of a shoe sole when the shoe sole is moved across the cylinder while the cylinder rotates relative to the housing.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention

The disclosure relates to shoe sole cleaning device and more particularly pertains to a new shoe sole cleaning device for cleaning the bottom of a shoe such that microbes, germs, and the like are destroyed before the shoe is used to walk through a residence or other interior space.

(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

The prior art relates to shoe sole cleaning devices that attempt to clean the bottom of a shoe.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a housing that has a bottom wall, a top wall and a perimeter wall that is attached to and extends between the top and bottom walls. The housing is comprised of a material that is non-permeable to water. The top wall has an opening extending therethrough that is elongated and has a first lateral edge, a second lateral edge, a front edge and a rear edge. A cylinder is rotatably mounted to the housing and extends through the opening such that a portion of the cylinder is positioned above the top wall and a portion of the cylinder is positioned below the top wall. The cylinder is elongated along and rotational about a longitudinal axis extending through the first and second lateral edges. An outer surface of the cylinder is comprised of an adsorptive material extending from a first outer end to a second outer end of the cylinder. A sanitizing fluid is positioned within the housing such that the adsorptive material is in contact with the fluid when the adsorptive material is positioned below the top wall to adsorb a quantity of the sanitizing fluid. The sanitizing fluid coats the cylinder and applies the sanitizing fluid to a bottom of a shoe sole when the shoe sole is moved across the cylinder while the cylinder rotates relative to the housing.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top isometric view of a shoe sole sanitizing assembly and method according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a side view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a top broken view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a front view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the disclosure taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 5 thereof, a new shoe sole cleaning device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 5, the shoe sole sanitizing assembly 10 and method generally comprises a housing 12 that has a bottom wall 14, a top wall 16 and a perimeter wall 18 that is attached to and extends between the top 16 and bottom 14 walls. The housing 12 is comprised of a material that is non-permeable to water. Such materials may include, for example, metals, plastics and elastomers. The top wall 16 has an opening 20 extending therethrough. The opening 20 has a first lateral edge 22, a second lateral edge 24, a front edge 26 and a rear edge 28, and is typically elongated along a line extending from the first lateral edge 22 to the second lateral edge 24. The opening 20 has a width from the first lateral edge 22 to the second lateral edge 24 that is greater than 3.0 inches and is less than 10.0 inches.

The perimeter 18 wall includes a front wall 30, a rear wall 32, a first lateral wall 34 and a second lateral wall 36. The first lateral wall 34 is adjacent to the first lateral edge 22 and the second lateral wall 36 is adjacent to the second lateral edge 24. The opening 20 is positioned generally centrally from the front 30 and rear 32 walls. The housing 12 has a length and width each being between 6.0 inches and 16.0 inches. More typically the housing 12 will have a length from the front wall 30 to the rear wall 34 that is greater than a width from the first lateral wall 34 to the second lateral wall 36. More specifically, the width will typically be between 6.0 inches and 12.0 inches and the length will be between 9.0 inches and 16.0 inches. The housing 12 has a height that may be between 1.0 inches and 4.0 inches.

An access door 40 is mounted in the top wall 16 to access an interior 42 of the housing 12. The access door 40 is conventional and may include a door 40 that is either frictionally snapped in place or handedly coupled to the top wall 16. The access door 40 opens to expose a pour opening for reasons explained below. A transparent window 44 is mounted in the perimeter wall 18 to view a fluid level within the housing 12 through the perimeter wall 18. Level indicia 46 may be positioned on the window 44.

A cylinder 48 is rotatably mounted to the housing 12 and extends through the opening 20 such that a portion of the cylinder 48 is positioned above the top wall 16 and a portion of the cylinder 48 is positioned below the top wall 16. The cylinder 48 is elongated along and rotational about a longitudinal axis that extends through the first 22 and second 24 lateral edges. The cylinder 48 may include a single spindle 50 extending therethrough or a pair of spindles 50 each extending from opposite ends of the cylinder 48. The spindle(s) 50 are seated in receivers 52 mounted in the housing 12. The spindle 50 may have a structure that allows the spindle 50 to be removed from the receivers 52 for either cleaning or replacement of the cylinder 48, or the receivers 52 may simply be notches extending downwardly into the top wall 16 to remove the cylinder 48 by lifting the spindles 50 out of the receivers 52.

An outer surface of the cylinder 48 is comprised of an adsorptive material 54 extending from a first outer end 56 to a second outer end 58 of the cylinder 48. The adsorptive material 54 may be comprised, for example, of natural or synthetic fibers formed into a pile for receiving a fluid. In some respects the cylinder 48 and adsorptive material 54 may resemble a paint roller and be comprised of similar materials. However, the cylinder 48 will have its core and spindle 50 being comprised of a non-permeable material such as metal or plastic.

A sanitizing fluid 60 is positioned within the housing 12. The sanitizing fluid 60 may comprise any conventional sanitizing fluid used to kill germs, microbes, viruses and the like. One suitable sanitizing fluid 60 would include mixture of water and isopropyl alcohol or ethanol which dries quickly and does not leave a film or coating on a shoe sole 62 or a floor.

In use, the adsorptive material 54 is in contact with the sanitizing fluid 60 when the adsorptive material 54 is positioned below the top wall 16 to adsorb a quantity of the sanitizing fluid 60. The sanitizing fluid coats the cylinder 48 and applies the sanitizing fluid 60 to a bottom of a shoe sole 62 when the shoe sole 62 is moved across the cylinder 48 as shown in FIG. 2 such that the cylinder 48 rotates relative to the housing 12. In this manner, the shoe sole 62 is cleaned and sanitized to prevent the spreading of germs and viruses onto a walking surface, such as home flooring.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements. 

1. A shoe sole sanitizing assembly configured to move against a shoe sole to sanitize the shoe sole, the assembly comprising: a housing having a bottom wall, a top wall and a perimeter wall being attached to and extending between the top and bottom walls, the housing being comprised of a material being non-permeable to water, the top wall having an opening extending therethrough, the opening being elongated and having a first lateral edge, a second lateral edge; a front edge and a rear edge; a cylinder being rotatably mounted to the housing and extending through the opening such that a portion of the cylinder is positioned above the top wall and a portion of the cylinder is positioned below the top wall, the cylinder being elongated along and rotational about a longitudinal axis extending through the first and second lateral edges; an outer surface of the cylinder being comprised of an adsorptive material extending from a first outer end to a second outer end of the cylinder; and a sanitizing fluid being positioned within the housing, the adsorptive material being in contact with the fluid when the adsorptive material is positioned below the top wall to adsorb a quantity of the sanitizing fluid, wherein the sanitizing fluid coats the cylinder and applies the sanitizing fluid to a bottom of a shoe sole when the shoe sole is moved across the cylinder such that the cylinder rotates relative to the housing; and an access door being mounted in the top wall to access a pour opening into an interior of the housing, the access door being openable to access the pour opening, the access door being closable to fully cover the pour opening wherein the access door is configured to prevent debris from passing through the pour opening.
 2. The shoe sole sanitizing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the opening has a width from the first lateral edge to the second lateral edge being greater than 3.0 inches and being less than 10.0 inches.
 3. The shoe sole sanitizing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the perimeter wall includes a front wall, a rear wall, a first lateral wall and a second lateral wall, the housing having a length and width each being between 6.0 inches and 16.0 inches, the housing having a height between 1.0 inches and 4.0 inches.
 4. (canceled)
 5. (canceled)
 6. The shoe sole sanitizing assembly according to claim 1, further including a transparent window being mounted in the perimeter wall to view a fluid level within the housing through the perimeter wall.
 7. A shoe sole sanitizing assembly configured to move against a shoe sole to sanitize the shoe sole, the assembly comprising: a housing having a bottom wall, a top wall and a perimeter wall being attached to and extending between the top and bottom walls, the housing being comprised of a material being non-permeable to water, the top wall having an opening extending therethrough, the opening being elongated and having a first lateral edge, a second lateral edge, a front edge and a rear edge, the opening having a width from the first lateral edge to the second lateral edge being greater than 3.0 inches and being less than 10.0 inches, the perimeter wall including a front wall, a rear wall, a first lateral wall and a second lateral wall, the housing having a length and width each being between 6.0 inches and 16.0 inches, the housing having a height between 1.0 inches and 4.0 inches; an access door being mounted in the top wall to access a pour opening into an interior of the housing, the access door being openable to access the pour opening, the access door being closable to fully cover the pour opening wherein the access door is configured to prevent debris from passing through the pour opening; a transparent window being mounted in the perimeter wall to view a fluid level within the housing through the perimeter wall; a cylinder being rotatably mounted to the housing and extending through the opening such that a portion of the cylinder is positioned above the top wall and a portion of the cylinder is positioned below the top wall, the cylinder being elongated along and rotational about a longitudinal axis extending through the first and second lateral edges; an outer surface of the cylinder being comprised of an adsorptive material extending from a first outer end to a second outer end of the cylinder; and a sanitizing fluid being positioned within the housing, the adsorptive material being in contact with the sanitizing fluid when the adsorptive material is positioned below the top wall to adsorb a quantity of the sanitizing fluid, wherein the sanitizing fluid coats the cylinder and applies the sanitizing fluid to a bottom of a shoe sole when the shoe sole is moved across the cylinder such that the cylinder rotates relative to the housing.
 8. (canceled) 